1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processor and an image generator that access a rotating magnetic disk.
2. Description of the Related Art
Copiers, printers, multifunction products (MFP), and the likes use a hard disk drive (HDD) to store image data and buffer data. While the HDD is inexpensive and suitable to store large-volume data, structure of the HDD is vulnerable to shock. When the HDD is subjected to shock, a magnetic head that is normally floating can contact a platter and scratch the platter, and particles resulting from the scratch can float in the HDD to consequently damage the platter. This causes loss of important data.
When a chassis of the MFP is closed after fixing a paper jam and the like, a force applied to the chassis transfers to the HDD as a shock, which is assumed to be a cause of the data loss.
To protect the HDD from vibration and shock transferred from a movable unit in an image generator, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-62763 discloses a technology to extend the life of a motor that rotates the platter and to prevent heat shock and heat deterioration due to the heat caused by the rotation of the motor by stopping the rotation of the platter in standby mode.
However, if the rotation stops after vibration in the movable unit is detected, the HDD can receive a shock from the vibration. Therefore, it is required to stop the rotation of the platter before vibration or the like occurs.